A group of 12 Republican senators, spearheaded by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, are urging Attorney General Jeff Sessions to cease separating families attempting to enter the U.S. between ports of entry, amid widespread backlash to the Trump administration’s new zero tolerance policy to prosecute all illegal immigrants.
“The current family separation crisis has multiple contributing causes, including court decisions that require release rather than detention of children but not parents who enter our country illegally,” the senators wrote. “But the immediate cause of the crisis is your Department’s recent institution of a ‘zero tolerance’ policy under which all adults who enter the United States illegally are referred for prosecution, regardless of whether they are accompanied by minor children.”
“We support the administration’s efforts to enforce our immigration laws, but we cannot support implementation of a policy that results in the categorical forced separation of minor children from their parents,” they added. “We therefore ask you to work with the relevant Administration officials to stop the separation of families pursuant to the Department’s zero tolerance policy while Congress works out a solution that enables faster processing of individuals who enter our country illegally. We believe a reasonable path forward can be found that accommodates the need to enforce our laws while holding true to other, equally essential values.”
The letter comes after Sessions attempted to defend the zero tolerance policy by pointing to a biblical passage.
“Illegal entry into the United States is a crime — as it should be. Persons who violate the law of our nation are subject to prosecution. I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained them for the purpose of order,” Sessions said Thursday at a gathering in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that nearly 2,000 minors were separated from accompanying adults between ports of entry at the border between April 19 and May 31 after the zero tolerance policy took effect. Additionally, the agency told reporters Tuesday that more than 2,300 children were separated from their families between May 5 and June 9.
Minors who are split from their families as a result of the zero tolerance policy will be housed by the Health and Human Services Department.
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen argued on Monday that prior administrations also separated children from adults.
“The Obama administration, the Bush administration all separated families,” Nielsen told reporters Monday evening. “They absolutely did. Their rate was less than ours but they absolutely did do this. This is not new.”
In the past, families were only separated if a parent-child relationship cannot be verified and if a child was at risk with the adult. In addition to these requirements, all adults who now illegally come to the U.S. between ports of entry instead of a border checkpoint are split from their children.
In addition to Hatch, other senators who signed the letter included Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Bob Corker of Tennessee, James Lankford of Oklahoma, among others.
